New 45 rpm jazz reissues, all remastered by Steve Hoffman and Kevin Gray:
The Tony Bennett-Bill Evans Album (Fantasy/Analogue Productions). Chills down the spine? No, it's more like the music bypasses the usual cognitive filters and hits you straight in the gut. This is why I spend my money on the best pressings and play them on a quality stereo. Listening to Bennett sing on this album is like watching a master paint an emotional landscape, each nuance in phrasing filling in a detail, breathing life into the music. A touch of grittiness in his voice grounds the songs in reality, unlike the impeccably smooth voice of Sinatra.
Sonny Rollins and the Contemporary Leaders (Contemporary/Analogue Productions)
Sonny Clark, Cool Struttin' (Blue Note/Music Matters). My favorite album of probably the most underrated pianist on the Blue Note roster.
Tina Brooks, True Blue (Blue Note/Music Matters). My second favorite Tina Brooks album on Blue Note. Well, he only recorded two albums for Blue Note.
Freddie Hubbard, Here to Stay (Blue Note/Music Matters). There are a number of great Blue Note albums that were shelved and released decades after the initial recording. This is one of them.
Horace Silver, Cape Verdean Blues (Blue Note/Music Matters)
The rest:
John Coltrane, Meditations (Impulse!, orange and black label, original pressing, Van Gelder in deadwax, $12). I don't know how anyone can meditate while Coltrane's making that racket. Actually this is one of his better albums from his late period.
Bill Evan, A Simple Matter of Conviction (Verve, original pressing, gatefold cover, $3). A fine trio date with Eddie Gomez and Shelley Manne.
Al Green, Gets Next to You (Hi Records, original stereo pressing, $9). rocky gets close to Al Green or at least completing his Hi Records catalog.
Spirit, Spirit (Ode, yellow label, original pressing, $3). The band's first album. It's got a few good moments, but nowhere near the quality of their masterpiece, Twelve Dreams of Dr. Sardonicus.
Orchestral Manoeuvers in the Dark, Crush (Sire, $3). I've been waiting for an OMD and Echo and the Bunnymen revival for years. So has my friend, Estragon.
The Cult, Electric (Sire, Masterdisk DMM in deadwax, $5). rocky's guilty pleasures, Exhibit #2. This is like a Saturday morning cartoon of rock. I like to listen to it while eating my Life cereal or my pop rocks with Coca-Cola.
The Tony Bennett-Bill Evans Album (Fantasy/Analogue Productions). Chills down the spine? No, it's more like the music bypasses the usual cognitive filters and hits you straight in the gut. This is why I spend my money on the best pressings and play them on a quality stereo. Listening to Bennett sing on this album is like watching a master paint an emotional landscape, each nuance in phrasing filling in a detail, breathing life into the music. A touch of grittiness in his voice grounds the songs in reality, unlike the impeccably smooth voice of Sinatra.
Sonny Rollins and the Contemporary Leaders (Contemporary/Analogue Productions)
Sonny Clark, Cool Struttin' (Blue Note/Music Matters). My favorite album of probably the most underrated pianist on the Blue Note roster.
Tina Brooks, True Blue (Blue Note/Music Matters). My second favorite Tina Brooks album on Blue Note. Well, he only recorded two albums for Blue Note.
Freddie Hubbard, Here to Stay (Blue Note/Music Matters). There are a number of great Blue Note albums that were shelved and released decades after the initial recording. This is one of them.
Horace Silver, Cape Verdean Blues (Blue Note/Music Matters)
The rest:
John Coltrane, Meditations (Impulse!, orange and black label, original pressing, Van Gelder in deadwax, $12). I don't know how anyone can meditate while Coltrane's making that racket. Actually this is one of his better albums from his late period.
Bill Evan, A Simple Matter of Conviction (Verve, original pressing, gatefold cover, $3). A fine trio date with Eddie Gomez and Shelley Manne.
Al Green, Gets Next to You (Hi Records, original stereo pressing, $9). rocky gets close to Al Green or at least completing his Hi Records catalog.
Spirit, Spirit (Ode, yellow label, original pressing, $3). The band's first album. It's got a few good moments, but nowhere near the quality of their masterpiece, Twelve Dreams of Dr. Sardonicus.
Orchestral Manoeuvers in the Dark, Crush (Sire, $3). I've been waiting for an OMD and Echo and the Bunnymen revival for years. So has my friend, Estragon.
The Cult, Electric (Sire, Masterdisk DMM in deadwax, $5). rocky's guilty pleasures, Exhibit #2. This is like a Saturday morning cartoon of rock. I like to listen to it while eating my Life cereal or my pop rocks with Coca-Cola.
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